Snivy the Warrior
by Deino Dude
Summary: Pokémon: A bully Snivy begins to be less horrible when confronted by a Serperior. With his best friend in tow, he travels off to find the Serperior and re-challenge it.
1. Snivy

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, otherwise I wouldn't be eating scrambled eggs, with a comb, from a shoe. (Black Books quote)**

**Oh yeah, I don't own Black Books either...**

Snivy lifted his nose into the cool, crisp morning air. He rose up slowly, with an arrogant smirk on his face that the other Pokémon in the area knew so well. They despised him. He was a hot-head, picking fights just because he could win. He always picked on the weakest, and boasted about his victories to the stronger ones.

He stretched, and casually strolled towards a Paras he had seen. He lazily Vine Whipped it, and sent it hurtling to the ground. Of course, when he told of it to the stronger Pokémon, it would have been a Parasect that he had bravely defeated, after he had found out that it was stealing their supplies of Sitrus berries.

He used Wrap, and defeated the Paras. He laughed to himself about how weak it was as the Mushroom Pokémon fled, barely conscious and bruised. He stepped out into the sunlight, feeling the warmth on his face. He tried to absorb it, as he had been trying to learn SolarBeam for so long, but he did not suceed again. He was embarassed, but nothing could embarass him like what he saw out of the corner of his eye.

There was a Serperior emerging from the forest, and it was giggling. It had seen him fail at a SolarBeam, and could not contain it's amusement. Snivy felt his face flush with a hot red light, that blemished his cheeks.

"I've never seen this Serperior round here before," thought Snivy indignantly. "Why has it suddenly arrived?"

Snivy began to suddenly become more curious than angry as the reason that this Serperior was here became evident. Serperior's trainer followed his Pokémon, with the same cocky, arrogant expression as the Regal Pokémon, but looking exhausted, having just chased his Serperior up the hill.

He saw his Serperior staring and laughing, so he looked in the same direction. His eyes widened as they fell upon Snivy. He looked at his Serperior annoyedly. It stopped laughing, and held it's head high in the air.

"Well well well," said the Trainer smugly. "If I catch you, I'll have the full evolution set: Snivy, Servine and Serperior! Let's make sure you're strong first. Go Serperior! SolarBeam!"

The Serperior in front of him sprang forwards above Snivy with blinding speed, and blotted out the sun. It glowed with a harsh light. Snivy was too amazed to move. The pure power, and agility of this creature was amazing.

"Do it Serperior! Nooooww!

Serperior unleashed this bundle of light, and it's aim was true. The attack struck Snivy squarely in the chest, and propelled it into the forest. Snivy hit a tree, and with such force that the tree snapped like a matchstick. Serperior's attack ceased, and Snivy fell to the ground, and fainted.

"Heh. Come on Serperior, let's go look for a _decent_ one. We shouldn't waste our time hanging with these lame Pokémon"

With a swish of her tail, the Serperior, and her trainer were gone.

Snivy felt, for the first time in his life, the bitter taste of defeat. He felt his face turn hot, for the second time today, but not through embarassment. This time, tears were spilling down his face. The clouds must have felt his sadness. They were crying too.

**DD: Please review, give me any tips because I am new to this, and I will update if anyone reviews (except my sister!) Think about it. If you are reading my story, you have nothing better to do, so reviewing will make me happy, and will give _you_ something else to do to.**


	2. Misery

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I wouldn't be writing this in English.**

**DD: Sorry if this chapter rambles on, this is really a filler to help you understand Snivy more.**

Snivy was miserable. He had never felt this way before. His tears had ceased, but now a new emotion was slowly spreading aroung his body. Pure rage was tearing his mind apart. He had never lost a battle, and this Serperior had taken this away from him. It had been so smug. He was determined to find his Serperior, and show it how to battle. He would win this time. But then- he remembered. His mind replayed the moment of impact, the SolarBeam. He clutched his chest and gasped, the pain flooding back. His mind was drowsy, the feeling coming again. He staggered around, trying to keep conscious, but he stumbled, and fell. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was the sound of the rain and a familiar shape...

Snivy woke up. He couldn't stand yet, but he feebly lifted his head. He was in an unfamiliar burrow, and suddenly a wave of panic replaced the recent anger. He tried to get up, to get out of wherever this place was, but his muscles had been through too much to allow stance. One thing was accomplished though. He saw his rescuer, and he bit back tears as a surge of guilt washed over him. The Paras from earlier was sat looking at him worriedly.

Snivy couldn't understand it. He had been so mean to this Paras, and yet it had rescued him. His mind was plagued with thought. If he had been the Paras, he would have left himself behind. But then he realised. It _was_ him. He had been in the shoes of this Paras this morning with the Serperior. Snivy shuddered. Just the memory was bad enough.

"How are you? Paras mumbled, trying to have as little eye-contact as possible.

Snivy felt shameful. This Paras was being _too_ nice after what he had done. It was still afraid of him. Fear. A feeling Snivy had relished up until he could empathise with it.

"OK" answered Snivy weakly. He couldn't bear to make eye-contact either.

"I found you when I was gathering berries." Paras continued, trying to make this conversation less awkward. "What happened?"

"I was attacked" Snivy said, still keeping his glance away from Paras. "A Serperior and her Trainer"

"Well- you had it coming"

"Yeah"

An awkward silence lingered for a while.

"I'm leaving" Snivy bluntly said.

"Huh?" Paras stared bewildered.

"I've been nothing but trouble since I arrived, and everyone around here hates me-"

"That's not true, I don't hate you!" Paras interjected.

"Yes you do, everyone does!" Snivy's eyes shifted to the bump on Paras' leg.

"Well if this is how you feel, I can't stop you."

"No, you can't"

Another awkward silence hung over the two.

"Come with me!" Snivy suddenly thought. Paras looked shocked. "You were so helpful when I was mean to you. You could be helpful, y'know, as a friend."

Then a smile broke out over Paras' face...


	3. Departures

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pok****émon, or I would be dancing in a shower of money, not writing this to waste my life while I should be revising.**

**DD: I have also written a new fic called Pottermon, so I haven't written a chapter on this for a while. AND I have Writer's Block. AND I have tonnes of homework. AND I like cloudy lemonade.**

Snivy looked up into the sky. He had lived under this very sky for three years now, but he felt nothing. He had never become attached to this place, it had merely been a place to sleep, and eat. Yet here he had felt like the boss. Every day he had strutted about, thinking he owned the place, but he only realised now how ridiculous he must have looked.

"Snivy. Snivy!" Paras was running towards Snivy, panting.

Snivy smiled. If anything could make him smile, it was Paras. He always tryed to make everyone happy. But Snivy always felt that slight pang of guilt when he looked at him, remembering how him and Paras met.

"I tried to catch up with you! Anyway- are you ready?

"Yes. But where will we go?

The smile on Paras' face suddenly faltered.

"Oh. Errrrrm... Well... Maybe... That way!"

Paras lifted a claw, and pointed in the vague direction of a hill. Snivy nodded, but then his mind suddenly froze, plunged into the memory of the Serperior attacking. He had seen it and it's trainer climbing up a hill. In fact, this hill.

But then a sudden feeling of determination washed over Snivy. He was sure of what he wanted to do. Before this, he just wanted to leave, with no purpose except to get away from this place, but now, he had a plan. He would find the Trainer, and challenge his Serperior again. He would train on the way, and when he eventually found the Serperior, he would be ready. And he would win.

"Come on then, let's go this way!" Snivy yelled enthusiastically, and started to run. He felt refreshed, as though he had just been reborn.

"Snivy! You're a lot faster than me!"

Paras broke into a steady run, but couldn't come close to Snivy.

* * *

><p>Later that day, when dusk had broken in, the two had settled down in a forest. Snivy had been running for a good half an hour before wandering back to find Paras.<p>

"So Paras, what do we do now?" quizzed Snivy.

"Oh Snivy, you're so impatient!" scolded Paras.

A silence masked the darkness, and suddenly all the voices of the night were clear. Snivy wondered what he should say.

"Sorry," Snivy blurted.

"Well you should be. You can't just leave me like that! But anyway, I forgive you."

"Okay. Thanks."

Snivy suddenly noticed something. While it had been cold before, the temprature seemed to have gone up slightly. And could the forest have got slightly lighter? No. Snivy put it out of his mind. He was just imagining it. Or was he?

"Snivy. Snivy!" Paras said. Snivy looked at Paras. His attention had been diverted by the sudden heat.

"Have you noticed this heat?" Paras asked.

"So it wasn't just me..." Snivy muttered to himself.

There was no denying it now. The heat was almost unbearable, and the light was getting closer. The ground was shaking as well.

Suddenly, a ball of pure fire raced towards the pair, scorching trees with the heat, burning them to a crisp, and headed straight for Snivy. Snivy noticed it too late.

"Snivy!" Paras screamed, and with astounding speed, unknown of by a Paras, he leapt towards Snivy, and shoved him out of the way. Paras was in the way now though, and Snivy couldn't get to him in time. All he could do was look on in helpless awe.

"That's a Fire Blast!" Snivy yelled, as the fire was reflected in his eyes.

The brute force of the attack hit Paras, and engulfed him in flames that seemed to be wrapping around him. He was thrown backwards with a force so stong, he looked to be knocked out instantly.

The attacker was a large dark shape, akin to a mountain. It's eyes lit up, and aimed it's yellow arm towards Snivy. He was too startled to speak.

"No..."

A weak cry came from behind Snivy. Paras could barely stand, and his skin seemed to be badly blistered. He stood between the Pokémon and Snivy, bravely trying to protect him.

A strange, menacing growl was emanating from the Pokémon, trying to warn Paras out of the way.

"You...will NOT hurt my friend!" Paras yelled, as the Pokémon started to absorb energy, for another Fire Blast...

**DD: Can anyone guess the mystery assailant? It's actually pretty easy, so guess by reviewing. I won't update unless someone reviews each chapter.**


	4. Amber

**Disclamer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I would eat gold plated pizzas at Domino's, not out of your fridge.**

**DD: The italics are just to show whose point of view it is, and all points of view are at the same time.**

Snivy stared on. This Pokémon had almost finished preparing its attack, and Snivy knew that Paras could not survive another attack like that. But Snivy could not do anything.

It's eyes glowed a fierce red. It seemed angry about something, and was intent on taking it's anger out on the pair.

"Mag... Mag... MAGMORTAAAAR!" The Pokémon cried.

Snivy's eyes welled with tears. He could do nothing but watch, as his best friend as he would perish at the hands of this Magmortar. Paras was being so brave, and yet it would do no good. As soon as Magmortar had finished Paras, Snivy would die too. Snivy just bent down and cried. Not for himself, but for Paras. He was the best friend in the world, and now he was dying.

"Go, Quagsire, Scald attack!" A strange voice came from the woods.

A strange blue Pokémon ran towards Magmortar, and shot a steaming jet of water at it. It hit dead on, and took the Blast Pokémon to its knees.

"Finish it! Mud Shot!"

Quagsire formed a ball of brown energy between its hands, and fired it. The attack seemed to have no effect on Magmortar at first, but the trainer, running out of the woods seemed determined, as did her Quagsire. After what felt like hours, Magmortar fell.

"Magmortar, return." Snivy was shocked. This monstrous beast had an owner? The girl held out a Poké Ball, and a jet of red light came from the button in the middle, and absorbed Magmortar. She looked solemnly at the Poké Ball. "Now Magmortar, I'm sorry we had to do that, but you can't rampage like that! Oh!"

The girl had just noticed Paras, who had just fainted. She took off her bag, and rummaged around. She retrieved a Full Restore.

"Come on, I'll help you. I'm Amber. I'll take you to the Pokémon Center in Bloombell Town."

She sprayed the Full Restore on Paras, and he instantly healed. Snivy was relieved that Paras was okay. Paras wanted Amber to find him, but the Fire Blast attack had covered him with leaves, and foliage. Amber couldn't see him. He was screaming in his head to her, but she couldn't do anything if she couldn't see him. He was too weary to move. The last thing he remembered was seeing Amber walking away with Paras in her arms.

"No-Snivy!" Paras desperately yelled. But Snivy was unconscious, and Amber coudn't understand him. A single tear trickled from Paras' eye.

_Snivy_

Snivy woke up. He batted off a Zubat that had perched on his body. The damage was evident now it was light; the area around him looked as if it had been anhialated, and that much was true. The trees were completely destroyed, and the branches were blackened and knarled. He could smell the burned ash, and the cinders that were all that was left of the forest immediately around him.

He suddenly jolted, and remembered. Paras! He had to return to his best friend. Where was it Amber had said they had gone? Somewhere like... Bloombell Town! Was that it? It sounded right. Snivy stood up, and felt dizzy. How long had he been here? It was impossible to tell. Snivy set off slowly. He could not tell how long the journey woul be. It could be ten minutes, it could be hours. But he knew he had to go. He set off in the direction Amber had walked...

_Paras_

Paras stretched, and looked around. He had no idea where he was, but he knew he had to find Snivy. He looked around. He saw Amber, at a counter for something, talking to a lady with pink hair, and a hat with a yellow cross on it.

She handed the lady two Poké Balls, and the lady put them on a trolley, which was pushed away by a pink Pokémon with an egg in its pouch on the front of its belly. It had a similar hat on to the lady behind the counter. This was a Chansey, which meant that the lady must be Nurse Joy! Paras at least knew that this was a Pokémon Center now. He would just sneak out, and search for Snivy. Paras hoped Snivy was okay, but the last time he had seen him, he hadn't looked too good. All he could do was hope.

"Hi there Paras! How are you doing there, buddy?" Amber walked towards Paras, impairing his plans to escape.

"How would you like to come with me? I'll help you get stronger, and hopefully evolve! I'm sorry about my Magmortar back there, she just has problems, but look on the bright side; you must be strong to withstand that Fire Blast, and I need a strong Grass type!"

Amber rummaged in her bag, and retrieved a purple Poké Ball, with pink spots on the top, and a letter 'M' inbetween them.

"Is that a Master Ball, miss? You're very lucky to have one, they're incredibly rare!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

Paras figured out what was about to happen, and he couldn't let her do it. He had to save Snivy! He made a desperate leap from the table, and beagan to scuttle towards the door.

"Oh no you don't! Go, Master Ball!"

Amber threw the Master Ball, and Paras felt it bang into his back. He felt his body disappear into energy, as he was forcefully sucked inside the ball. He tried to struggle, and force his way out, but his force was just absorbed into the ball, rendering his power useless. He felt the ball stop shaking. He had been caught. There was no hope now of finding his friend. His best friend. His only friend.

_Amber_

"So is this your Paras, miss?" Nurse Joy asked.

"No, no, just helping it out. It got into trouble with a Magmortar, and... Here we are!

"Aaahh, hence the burns."

"Yeah. Well, could you please take my Quagsire and Magmortar?"

"Yes, they will be with you in a minute."

Amber glanced at Paras. It had just woken up. She walked over to it, and it looked at her.

"Hi there Paras! How are you doing there, buddy?" She exclaimed. "How would you like to come with me? I'll help you get stronger, and hopefully evolve! I'm sorry about my Magmortar back there, she just has problems, but look on the bright side; you must be strong to withstand that Fire Blast, and I need a strong Grass type!"

Amber looked in her bag, and found the package containing her Master Ball. The note on it read:

_Only use this when you find the one we need.  
>G<em>

She knew it was the right time. She pulled the Master Ball out of her bag, and Paras dived off the table.

"Oh no you don't! Go, Master Ball!"

Amber hurled the Master Ball. It hit Paras, and sucked it in. Amber watched as the Master Ball wobbled once... twice... three times... and ping! The sound certified that she had indeed caught Paras. She had no doubt it would work, as it was a Master Ball.

Amber walked over to the Master Ball, and picked it up. She felt the warmth emanating from her new Pokémon, as her fingers closed around it. She strolled towards the door, and pulled out a walkie-talkie from her pocket, and spoke into it.

"Phase one is complete. It is only a matter of time now. Over."

Amber walked out with a sinister, dark smile on her face...

**DD: Who is this mysterious 'G'? Why did Amber catch Paras? What is Amber up to? Will Paras and Snivy ever be reunited? Leave reviews of what you think is going on!**


	5. Kira

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I could pay scientists to create mini elephants, so I could hold them and pretend I was a giant.**

**DD: This chapter and the next one are dedicated to **_**Zangoose-Kira,**_** my most constant reviewer. Thanks for reviewing each chapter and complimenting them. Read her Pokémon fics, they are brilliant.**

**DD: Also, as well as a change of character, italics also mean a flashback.**

_Snivy_

Snivy was plastered with sweat. He had been traveling for a few hours. For all he knew, Amber and Paras could be anywhere by now. But Snivy knew that this was the only chance he had. He had to head for Bloombell Town no matter how much more tired he got.

"Skreeee!" Snivy looked up at the trees, where the sound appeared to be coming from. It was a Skarmory! The Skarmory swooped down from the canopy, shrieking harshly at Snivy. Its steel feathers glowed menacingly from the reflected sunlight. The reflection also impaired Snivy's sight, so he couldn't see exactly where Skarmory was.

Snivy did the only thing natural, and leapt to the side. He crashed to the floor the same time Skarmory did. Luckily, Snivy had made th right descision. Skarmory had crashed in the exact place Snivy had been. Snivy looked back at Skarmory, who had strangely stopped glowing. That was when Snivy realised. Skarmory hadn't been reflecting the sunlight. It had been using Sky Attack! Snivy had a type disadvantage, and was a lot lower leveled. This would be a tough battle.

The Skarmory launched an Aerial Ace, and Snivy knew he couldn't dodge it. He countered it with Grass Knot. It wrapped around Skarmory's outstretched foot, and brought it flying to the ground. Unfortunately, it did very little damage, due to Skarmory's type, but at least it slowed it down. This gave Snivy a chance to attack Skarmory with a Tackle. Skarmory rose up. It used Drill Peck, which scored a direct hit on Snivy. Snivy flew backwards and the force of the attack threw Snivy so hard, he smashed a rock. He layed in the rubble, and tasted blood. He had hit his head on the rock, and was concussed.

Snivy suddenly was washed with a memory that froze him solid. This had happened to him before with the Serperior, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He stood up, and dodged a Giga Impact that Skarmory had directed at Snivy. It smashed into the rubble, severely damaging it. Great! Snivy could use the recharge to attack Skarmory. Snivy only had one desperate chance. His moves were too weak to cause any damage. He would have to try.

Snivy sped into a spot of harsh sunlight, and felt the warmth on his face. He breathed in, and raised his arms, as though trying to grab the sun. He felt the sunlight channeling into his body, spreading through his veins. He opened his eyes, and saw Skarmory heading towards him, gravely hurt from crashin into the rubble, using a Sky Attack. It was now or never. Snivy tried to unleash the pent up SolarBeam, directing it as a ray of light-but failed again.

Snivy jumped out of the way-just in time. Skarmory's beak grazed Snivy's tail, and Snivy felt the graze start to sting. Snivy felt himself turn around in mid-air, unleashing an attack that he had never known himself to do. He landed comfortably on his head, and began to spin. Leaves began to spin around his tail, forming a tornado. He threw the tornado at Skarmory, who had just plummeted, dazed, into a rock. Skarmory noticed it too late, and was enveloped in the tornado.

Snivy waited tentatively. The tornado faded, and revealed Skarmory on the floor, fainted. Snivy breathed a sigh of relief. He ran as fast as he could, even though he was exhausted.

* * *

><p>Snivy arrived at a town. He read the sign next to him. 'Bloombell Town' it read. So he was in the right place then. He had to look for a Pokémon Center. That was where they were most likely to be.<p>

Snivy entered the Pokémon Center, after being shooed from seven buildings already. He went to the lady behind the counter, hopped onto it and began to speak.

"Where is my friend, Paras? He was with a girl called Amber!"

"Oh my gosh! You need urgent help!" The lady said, grabbing Snivy.

She ran with Snivy to a room, and put him down on a bed. The bed was so comfortable, Snivy forgot all his worries, and fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Kira<em>

_A few hours before_

In a little herbal remedy shop, a red and white Pokémon was curled in a ball basking in the sun. It had long ears, one red. Its tail was white and bushy, and its blood red hands ended in two wicked black claws on each hand, and a small red finger on each hand also. It woke up, and revealed its shocking pink eye. Its most noticable feature was a long scar over the other eye. Its owner, Kira, was bored. The day was too warm, so no-one was outside. No-one had visted her shop in hours, and no-one was going to. She hadn't seen anyone outside in hours. Well-someone had come into her shop earlier shouting 'Snivy! Snivy!'. She presumed they were looking for a Snivy, she didn't look. She was tired, so she told them to 'Go away'.

Suddenly, the Pokémon growled, and looked out of the window.

"What is it Zangoose?" She said sleepily. "What have you seen?"

Kira rose from her chair, and stretched. She walked to the window, and peered out.

Kira saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the regular shops, no Pokémon that Zangoose could have seen, a girl walking out of the Pokémon Center.

"Goose Zangoose Zan!" Zangoose yelled, pointing at the girl.

Zangoose must think there was something suspicious about her. It wanted to follow the girl evidently. Kira didn't agree, but she had learned to trust her Zangoose long ago.

* * *

><p><em>Three years ago, Kira was trapped in a cave. She had seen a Cyndaquil out in the rain, and went to help it, but slipped on the rock. She fell down into the cave, and there was no way out that way, so she explored further, looking for an exit further in.<em>

_And then she met Zangoose. Zangoose was quite deep down, and was locked in combat with another Zangoose. The other Zangoose was bigger, and probably stronger than the Zangoose._

_"Oi!" Kira screamed, throwing a rock at the large Zangoose. It snarled, and ran away, down a passage in the rocks._

_She ran over to Zangoose, who had sustained a face injury, snaking over its right eye. Kira unzipped her bag, which contained lots of herbs, and medicines. Kira noticed at the start that the wound was superficial, causing no real damage-except to the eye. The eye was beyond repair, and after soothing the wound, Kira knew that Zangoose had to go to a Pokémon Center after they found an exit._

_"From what I've heard, Zangeese are excellent sniffers. Could you help me out of the cave, so I could get you to a Pokémon Center?"_

_"Zan!"_

_Kira barely kept up as Zangoose bounded down different corridors, until they got to a fork in the rock. Zangoose had stopped to wait for Kira._

_"Zangoose Zan!" Zangoose exclaimed, pointing to the right hand side._

_Kira stared down both paths, and saw light at the end of the left path._

_"Zangoose, we've got to follow the light! Follow me." _

_Kira hurtled down the left side, ignoring Zangoose. She only turned back when she noticed Zangoose wasn't following her. _

_"Come on, Zangoose!" She yelled, and kept running._

_Kira reached the end of the tunnel, and halted. She realised why Zangoose had wanted her to go through the right side. She was stood on the edge of a cliff! She turned around, but the rock crumbled beneath her feet. She tried to keep her balance on the rocks, but fell down. She banged all of her body on the way down, and was knocked unconscious on immediate contact with the ground..._

* * *

><p>And that was all she remembered. She had been told that Zangoose had jumped down the cliff, and gone to get help. She caught it later when it found one of her Pokéballs to jump into.<p>

Kira wasn't going to distrust Zangoose again.

"Come on Zangoose, let's follow her! If you want to, I agree!"

So they set off, locking the shop on their way out. Only then did Kira notice that the girl _did_ actually look suspicious. She had a smirk on her face, that Kira saw reflected in a shop window. Kira was sure the girl was concentrating on something else, so she would't notice Kira. She had a strange purple Pokéball in her grasp. She entered the woods, and Kira followed. Kira made sure that the girl couldn't see her, and entered the woods too.

_Amber_

Amber entered the woods behind the Pokémon Center. She wasn't too careful, because she knew power was on her side. She looked back and smirked. A girl and her Zangoose were following her. Little matter. Amber could just remove them...


	6. Ghetsis

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I would replace the anime theme tune with the song **_**'I will survive'.**_

**DD: By the way, this chapter has taken quite a dark turn, so the story is not the same as before. But, it will return to normal after current events.**

_Snivy_

Snivy awoke with a start. He wondered where he was, so he sat up and looked around. He was on a white, sterile bed in the middle of a room filled with computer screens and various other gadgets. A window was in the room, so he jumped down to look through it. He saw that the window was actually a glass screen, so that nurses could peer at him and make observations without coming into the room and disturbing him.

He only knew one thing at the moment though. He still had to save Paras. He tried the door, and Snivy wasn't surprised by the fact that it was locked. He searched desperately for an exit, and after a while of searching, he saw that the window at the side of the room was slightly ajar at the top. Snivy unsucessfully tried several times to climb up to it, but then he had an idea. He used Vine Whip to grab the window ledge, which seemed to be icy to the touch. He pulled himself up, and stared out of the window. Snivy was alarmed. Not only was the window fifty feet high, but at the bottom of this perilous drop was hard earth. There was no way to get down.

Suddenly, the noise of a key rattled in the lock of the door behind Snivy! He knew he had mere seconds before a nurse saw him attempting to escape, and then they would close the window. He had to try something.

Snivy scrambled out of the window and onto the window ledge outside. He retracted his vines. An icy gust of wind threatened to topple him off the edge of the frail brick. It must have been here a long time, because under Snivy's weight the ledge began to collapse. He lost his balance as his foothold plummeted to the distant ground. He was falling! He scrabbled for a hand hold, but didn't find one. He closed his eyes and winced, preparing for his death...

_Kira_

Kira and Zangoose crouched down. The strange girl had entered a cave, and they had naturally followed her. They were scared now that they might have stumbled across something big, and sinister. After they had followed her inside, the girl entered a room with a long, slender table, the kind you would see in a conference room. The girl sat at the side of the table next to other people. At the head of the table was a man with an eyepatch on one eye, and a strange robe. The robe had a top that looked like the walls of a castle, and it was decorated with strange, blue and yellow eye patterns. He was about 6'2", and had broad shoulders (although that could have just been the robe).

"Ah, Amber, you have finally returned." The man said with a suprisingly calm and mellow voice. "I trust you were sucessful in your mission?"

"Yes sir. I have suceeded sir." The girl, Amber replied.

"Do you care to share your mission with your fellow operatives?"

"Yes sir."

The man gestured for her to begin. Amber cleared her throat.

"We have recently been alerted to the existence of a Pokémon that can solve all our problems. A rare Pokémon with a common species."

She put the Masterball on a blue glowing platform in the middle of the table. A holographic screen materialized above it, and showed a rotating image of a Paras and an abundance of lists of random numbers and figures. Kira knew they must be analyzing the Paras inside, but she had no idea how.

"This Paras appears to be just a normal Paras on the outside, but it is far from that on the inside. The mushrooms on its back, the tochukaso, on a Paras are usually a symbol of longivety, and can be used to make medicine said to be able to stop a person dying, even if they are breathing their last breath."

"So, why this Paras?" The man questioned.

"Because we believe that this paticular Paras' tochukaso are super charged, possibly due to a birth defect. Anyway, the medicine produced by this Paras would have astonomical effects. If the normal medicine can _stop_ death, we believe that the enhanced medicine will _prevent_ it."

A silence lingered for a while. No-one dared believe what she had just said. They just stared blankly, except for the man, who always seemed to have a quietly bemused expression.

"Also, the super charged tochukaso give this Paras immense strength, so we had to use a Masterball to make sure we caught it. The strength does not stretch to defending though. So my Magmortar was able to weaken it. We plan to use the potion on ourselves, and our Pokémon. We can never die, and our Pokémon can never be defeated. Team Plasma will be unstoppable!"

A round of cheering and clapping erupted from the people, whom Kira now identified as Team Plasma Grunts. So the man at the end of the table must be their leader, Ghetsis! This was bad. The last Kira had heard of Team Plasma, they had disbanded, been humiliated, and their leader had gone missing. And this was where he was hiding.

"Oh, another thing before we end this meeting. I have been followed by a girl and her Zangoose, who are sitting in this room right now."

Kira gasped. The Plasma Grunts suddenly jolted their heads, looking at the rock that she was hiding behind. Kira did the only thing she could. She ran.

"What are you waiting for, after her!" Ghetsis' face was now contorted with rage.

"Come on Zangoose, run!" Kira screamed. Zangoose didn't need telling twice.

A gunshot cracked in the background, and hit the wall next to Kira's head.

_'Oh damn!'_ she thought. _'They have guns!'_

"Zangoose, return!" Kira yelled, pointing her Pokéball at Zangoose. She was sucked into it, safe out of the way. Another bullet hit the wall, and Kira was sprayed with dust and debris from the wall. She leapt over a rock in her way, and she was out of the cave. She ran faster. Now that she was out in the open, she would be an easier target. More bullets whizzed past her head, luckily none of them meeting their mark. She looked back. They had stopped chasing her, but she still ran.

Whilst looking behind her, she stumbled into a ditch. She rolled down, the fall winding her. When she reached the bottom, she screamed. She had landed awkwardly on her leg, and felt the bone snap. Kira saw spots in front of her eyes, and felt herself blacking out. She reached out for Zangoose's Pokéball; it had fallen out of reach when she fell. She could reach, just a bit more... Gotcha! She released Zangoose, who immediately ran over, concerned.

"Zangoose...Go get help...Please...Go!" She used all that remained of her energy to shout that, and then the last thing she saw before blacking out was Zangoose's tail bobbing up the side of the ditch...

_Zangoose_

Zangoose ran as fast as she could back to Bloombell Town. She would have to be quick if Kira were to be safe. Up ahead, Zangoose glimpsed the Pokémon Center in Bloombell Town over the treetops. She was getting close. She ran out of the woods, into the town. She saw the Pokémon Center from behind, about twenty metres away, but she didn't stop running. She ran round the side of the building, the front getting closer, and then...

THUD. Zangoose was hit in the back by something. She fell on the floor, and saw a little green Pokémon on her back. Zangoose looked up in incredulity. She saw an open window, and presumed that the little green Pokémon had fallen from it. It was a Snivy! What was it doing here? Zangoose only knew that it was heavier than it looked.

"What are you doing here?" Zangoose barked, annoyed from Snivy falling on her.

"I fell out of the window, it's not my fault. Anyway, will you help me find my friend Paras? He was last with a girl called Amber."

Amber...Paras... Zangoose had heard those names in the cave, with Team Plasma. She relayed the events to Snivy, including the bit about Paras' tochukaso. Snivy's face became more and more horrified with each word.

"Come on, we need to find someone to help Kira!" Zangoose shouted impatiently.

The pair ran around the town, trying to get people to follow them, but no-one did.

"I guess _you_ are the best chance Kira has," Zangoose said bitterly. "Come on, hurry!"

They ran through the woods, but Zangoose noticed that Snivy was far behind.

"Come on, we _need_ to find Kira!" she yelled.

"I'm *huff* not that fast!"

"Well climb on my back then!"

"Okay *huff* thanks,"

Snivy jumped on Zangoose's back, and she ran towards the ditch where Kira is - or was.

"No, NO, NOOOOOO!" Zangoose screamed. "She was right here!"

"Could she have moved?"

"She had a broken LEG, idiot!"

Zangoose was seething with rage. Kira had vanished from the ditch...


	7. Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I would make a Pokémon game entirely devoted to hunting and killing Mr. Mime.**

_Snivy_

"Zangoose, calm down! Shouting and smashing things is NOT going to help at all!" Snivy shouted at the Zangoose, who was currently smashing rocks with her immensly powerful Close Combat attack. Snivy didn't fancy _anyones_ chances against this Zangoose. She stopped, and listened.

"You're right. We have to save Kira, -" Zangoose stated.

"And Paras," Snivy added.

"- and I know where she probably is."

Snivy was in a stunned silence. For the first time since Paras had been kidnapped, Snivy could be close to finding him.

"Where?" Snivy quieried.

"There's a rock, just out of the woods. The hidden entrance to their hideout is just round the back." Zangoose told Snivy.

"Well, let's go then! Can I still ride on your back?"

"No."

"Okay."

Zangoose set off running, and Snivy ran after her as fast as he could. _'If only I could evolve into a Serperior, I could leave _her_ while _I_ ran ahead.'_ Snivy thought.

Snivy emerged from the woods, to see Zangoose sat on a rock that seemed a mile away. She was grooming herself, and peeking at Snivy trying to reach her. He finally reached her, and sat down on the rock panting.

"You took your time. I thought that Snivy were supposed to be fast?" Zangoose taunted Snivy.

"We are... but only... in battle. The adrenaline... makes for... our speed." Snivy panted.

"Come on then, we need to go in!" Zangoose exclaimed, running towards the base of the rock. In a flash of fur, she was gone.

Snivy peered down, and saw a white tail bobbing down a wide passage, wide enough for a human. He jumped down, and followed her. He looked at a wall to the left of him, and saw an ugly mark on it. It looked like something small, but fast had hit it, and left a scorch looking mark. Zangoose was well in front of Snivy, but she suddenly stopped. She seemed frozen, and she was behind a rock.

"What's up?" Snivy asked, catching up to Zangoose.

"They were here," she mumbled, staring straight ahead.

Snivy looked at an empty room, one with a long, narrow table that looked too high tech for this mere cave. He entered the room after Zangoose, who investigated under the table. Snivy jumped onto the table, and saw a blue glowing plate fixed onto it. He approached it, but a sudden vision caught his eye. There was a small crack in the stone wall, just enough to look out of. He saw a girl being loaded into the back of a sleek, black van, that looked like it had armoured plating. She was gagged, and her leg was stuck out at an awkward angle.

"Urm, Zangoose. Come and see this," he said. Zangoose ran over to the crack, and peered out.

"KIRA!" Zangoose yelled. She smashed the wall down, reducing it to rubble and dust, and ran towards the van. Snivy ran as well, trying desperately to keep up with her. Two people in the van jumped out, and held up Pokéballs.

"Go Scrafty, get the Zangoose!"

"You too Liepard!"

The two Dark types leapt towards Zangoose, and used Brick Break and Night Slash. Zangoose met their attacks with an Iron Tail, which amazingly knocked them both out. No sooner were the first two unconscious then two more, a Garbodor and a Watchog, came to attack. Zangoose was knocking out Pokémon left, right and centre, but was being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. Snivy ran to help.

"GO!" Zangoose yelled, whilst using Slash on multiple foes.

Snivy ran to the van, and was still un-noticed. He climbed on the top, and felt the engine rumble beneath him. The van was slowly driving away.

Snivy looked towards Zangoose, who had broken free of the crowd of Pokémon, who were still attacking the pile, thinking that Zangoose was still there. She bounded desperately towards the van, but it was picking up speed. She had no chance of getting to it in time.

"Zangoose! Grab on!" Snivy shouted to Zangoose, using Vine Whip at the same time. long green tendrils snaked from Snivy's neck, darting towards Zangoose. She lunged unsucessfully for the vines three times, but then on the fourth time, she nicked one of them with her claw.

Snivy leaned over the edge of the van, and stretched his vines to breaking point. He wrapped his vine around Zangoose's wrist, holding her but making her stumble, as she could now only run with one front paw. He sharply retracted his vines, drawing on all his strength so he could pull up the hefty Zangoose. She crashed into the back of the van, and scrambled up the steel doors. Snivy hoped that the people driving the van though that the noise was just Kira banging on the wall. Zangoose's claws were so sharp, she left deep gouges in even the armour of the van!

"Thanks for that. I guess you're not _that_ bad," Zangoose admitted.

"Oh, thanks!" Snivy muttered.

* * *

><p>After a long journey of Zangoose slashing at the metal, and attempting to pierce it with her claws, the van rumbled to a stop. Zangoose had left welts and deep marks on the roof, so Snivy prayed that the villains, whoever they were, didn't check the tops of their vans.<p>

They were in some sort of dark garage, and the people had left. When they had taken Kira, Zangoose had tears in her eyes, and Snivy could tell that Zangoose had to use every fibre of her willpower not to jump down and rescue Kira. They were locked inside the garage.

"We need to find a way out of here. Then we can rescue Kira and Paras!" Zangoose exclaimed.

"Deal," Snivy agreed, and the two began to search.

_Kira_

Kira was drowsy when she woke up, and for a second she thought that she was at home, in bed. Not for long. Her head was pounding, and she was in the back of what she could only presume was some sort of van.

BANG!

Kira jumped. There was something happening on the roof. Something loud.

BANG!

The banging continued, and even though it was just a noise, it sounded desperate.

"Oi! Keep it down in there!" One of the Plasma Grunts yelled. They obviously thought it was her banging on the side.

The van halted, and she saw a brilliant light to her left side. The door had opened, and Kira weakly raised her arm to her face to shield her eyes. Two burly Plasma Grunts came through the doors, and roughly grabbed her by her arms. They dragged her out of the van, and her legs hit the ground. The sudden pain of her broken leg was enough to fully wake her up.

"Let me GO!" She screamed, startling the Grunts. They dragged her to a room, and sat her at a table. This table was identical to the one in the cave, as were the other tables in the rooms she saw on her way to the room. The Grunts left the room, and Kira looked ahead to the other end of the table where the man, Ghetsis, was sitting.

"Ahh, Kira. How... _delighted_ I am to be in your acquaintance."

"Go to hell."

Ghetsis just smiled.

"You seem awfully confident for someone in your position. Yet I am in total command. I know your name is Kira, you live in Bloombell Town, and you own the best herbal remedies shop in the whole of the Unova region. I know so much more also. But what do you know about me?"

"I know you have a fetish for long tables."

"Smart, smart. I worry your tounge is sharper than your Zangoose's claws. Speaking of your Zangoose..."

Ghetsis had a smirk on his face as he raised a remote control to a screen on the wall to the left of Kira. She froze as she saw Zangoose, and a Snivy running through a room that appeared to be in this building.

"No," she whispered. "Leave Zangoose alone!"

"If you don't behave, we will take your Zangoose, and this Snivy, and they will never be seen again. My voice is programmed into the computer system so that no-one can do anything without my orders." He laughed. "You will now comply?"

"Yes," Kira muttered, detesting this man.

"Okay. I am merciful, after all, so I believe my Grunts found this in your pocket?" Ghetsis pulled out a little jar of a green looking paste and slid it across the table. "Could you be so kind, and inform us of the substance in the jar?"

"It's a herbal remedy. It heals stuff like cuts, bruises, -"

"Broken legs?" Ghetsis interupted.

"Well, probably, I've never tried."

Kira scooped all the paste out of the jar and on to her leg. The paste soothed her leg, and after about half an hour of silence in the room, Kira's leg was completely mended, if not a little stiff. Kira frowned.

"Ghetsis? What's that?" Kira asked, pointing behind him.

He looked over his shoulder, examining the space behind him. Kira took this oppurtunity to strike, throwing the empty glass pot at Ghetsis. It was a desperate shot, but Kira hit him on the temple, instantly knocking him out. He had said that no-one can do anything without his command. _'Well he ain't gonna be saying much!'_ Kira thought.

Kira sped out of the door, faltering slightly to look back at the screen. The alarm had sounded. Everyone would now know of her escape, and would be after her. Zangoose had heard the alarm, and was now stood up, with her ears pricked up. Then she turned, and ran again.

Kira exited the room, and was about to run down it, but then she looked to her left, and saw the Master Ball on a single stand in the middle of the room. She darted into the room, and picked it up. She stuffed it in her pocket, and left the room.

Kira chose one corridor, racing down it. She elbowed a Grunt in the stomach, hearing the surprised gasp before he sank to the ground. She kept running through this maze of identical tables, until she came to a dead end. She was about to turn back, but saw a single Plasma Grunt running towards her. She knew he would be expecting her, so she couldn't do anything but admit defeat.

"Come with me, runt!" the Grunt commanded, and Kira was sure that she had heard that voice somewhere before.

She was harshly led by the arm through corridors until they came to a door. Kira could see the forest out of that door, and she knew it was an exit. She wondered why they had stopped here.

"Go," the Grunt whispered, taking Kira completely by surprise.

"Is this a trick?" Kira demanded.

"No, no! You see, I'm not a real Plasma Grunt! I am..."

The man grabbed his face, and pulled. Kira was startled for a second, but then she realised it was a mask.

"...Looker!" the man announced, looking at Kira expectantly.

Kira recognised him from the newspaper. From rumors that she had heard about him, he was a brilliant detective, and a master of disguise. He infiltrated evil organisations, and he had assisted in the fall of Team Galactic, and had captured the Seven Sages of Team Plasma all by himself!

"See I'm on a mission to investigate what Team Plasma are doing here, and when I heard that someone had been kidnapped, I came to this place to help them out. So I am!"

"But what about -"

"Don't worry, I will get your Zangoose and Snivy out of here! Have complete faith in me."

Kira saw the door slide up, and she could suddenly smell the wonderful aroma of the outside, and hear the gentle trickling of a nearby stream. She stepped out of the door, and walked very slowly outside. She closed her eyes, and felt the welcoming warmth of the sun basking on her shoulders.

"Hello Kira." A voice sprung from behind Kira, suddenly extinguishing everyting nice about the outside.

Kira whirled around to see Amber smiling sweetly at her. She looked towards the door, and saw a sadistic grin on Looker's face as he closed the door. This had all been a trap...


	8. Wounded

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or I wouldn't be outside rich people's houses, hoping they'll pay me to leave.**

**DD: Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I hope this chapter is up to scratch.**

_Kira_

Kira stared with unmaskable horror at Looker. She had heard great things about him, that he was the person responsible for the fall of Team Plasma, and Sinnoh's Team Galactic.

"Bu-but you stopped Team Galactic, and Team Plasma! How could you do this!" Kira demanded, making a futile attempt to hide her fear.

"I stopped Team Galactic so that there would be less competition! And if you remember correctly, I _personally_ escorted all of the Team Plasma members to their jail cells, who then mysteriously escaped..." Looker answered, smirking as he did so.

Kira was dumbfounded. All of this made sense now. Except for one thing...

"Why take me alive? You shot at me when I first found out, so why not shoot me now?"

As if in a response to her question, a hologram of Ghetsis appeared in front of her. He was still sitting down. _'Lazy git,'_ Kira thought.

"Ah, Kira, lovely to see you," he said with false delight. "How is your leg?"

"Great," Kira said through gritted teeth.

But then she saw something else amiss.

"Why did you wait for my leg to heal?" she asked, momentarily forgetting her surrounding.

"I am disappointed Kira..." Ghetsis purred. "I thought that you would have figured that paticular detail out..."

"Well, I was a bit busy knocking you out with a glass pot," she retorted.

"Knocking _me_ out, or knocking my look-alike? Kira, you seem to be forgeting that I am a man that would think about every possibility."

"So? Why did you wait for my leg to heal?" Kira asked, attempting to keep her cool.

"Kira, I enjoyed to see you running around, with a hope that you may escape, when I knew all along that you would be caught."

"So that's it, is it? For sport?"

"Prescisely"

"But why not kill me? You tried to when I found out about your evil plans."

"Well we aren't going to try this tochukaso potion on ourselves first! We plan to use you as the guinea pig, in case of any nasty side effects. I just thought that you wouldn't mind if Amber had a little private chat with you..."

The hologram flickered, and then completely disappeared. Looker left; the heavy metal door slammed shut leaving a silence in the room. Amber picked up a large branch that had fallen from a tree above the river.

"I've been looking forward to this..."

_Snivy_

Snivy and Zangoose were lost. This building seemed like an endless maze of corridors, and rooms with long tables. Zangoose abruptly stopped, forcing Snivy to fall over, or bang into Zangoose. He fell over.

"Look!" Zangoose commanded.

"What? I don't see anything!"

Zangoose and Snivy ran into a room that looked identical to all of the others. She pointed at a speck of a green coloured paste on the floor that was not visible from the distance that they had been. At least not to Snivy. Zangoose stuck her tail in the air, and sniffed the ground.

"Look, there's a glass pot under the table here." Snivy commented.

Zangoose stuck her nose under the table and had a good sniff around. She had a moment of realisation, and jolted up from under the table.

"This is Kira's Anti-Injury Paste! She was here! All we need to do now is follow the scent trail, and it'll lead us to Kira!"

Just then, they heard heavy footsteps and voices heading their way. Around a dozen Plasma Guards armed with machine guns entered the room and aimed at them.

"Uh-oh." Zangoose remarked.

"Fire!" The Plasma Guard at the front yelled, as Snivy and Zangoose dived under the table.

A spurt of bullets exploded from the end of the guns; Snivy and Zangoose heard the bullets punch holes in the wall behind them. They had left dents in the wrought iron table, but none had pierced it.

Whilst the gunners were reloading, Zangoose popped her head over the table, and unleashed a devastating Hyper Beam. The Plasma Guards took the full force of the attack, and were blasted back into the wall. They were all unconscious.

Snivy gasped as he looked at Zangoose. Blood was trickling from a hole in her neck, congealing in her fluffy pelt.

"You're hurt!" Snivy exclaimed.

"Oh." Zangoose replied, and then collapsed.

"Zangoose, wake up! Zangoose!" Snivy pleaded.

Zangoose's eyes fluttered open, and she looked at Snivy. She stood up, though in agony, and began to walk to the door. She stumbled, and Snivy just managed to support her in time to stop her falling over.

"This is hopeless! I can't walk, so how am I meant to save Kira?"

"I could take the bullet out for you? And apply pressure to the wound, if it would help." Snivy offered.

"Okay. The more I move, the further in the bullet will get. Just take it easy, will you?"

Snivy raised one of his vines, and slid it into the bullet wound. Zangoose's face was contorted into a grimace of pain, but after a few seconds, Snivy's vine emerged, wrapped around a bullet. He threw the bullet away, which hit the glass pot on the floor.

"Hey, I could put some of this stuff on it!" Snivy announced, whilst wrapping his vines around the pot, and scooping out the last of the vile green substance from the edges. There was barely enough to cover the head of a matchstick, but Snivy figured that it was better than nothing.

"Go on then."

Snivy pushed his vine into the hole, spreading the smelly paste around.

"Do you Grass types use your vines for everything?"

"Pretty much. Is your neck any less painful then?"

"A bit, yeah. OW! Keep your tentacles in the hole!"

"They're vines, not tentacles!"

"Whatever."

Snivy finished rubbing the paste in, and he led Zangoose out of the room slowly. Zangoose sniffed the air.

"I can smell Kira! Well, I can smell the paste, but she must have put it on," she stated.

"Okay, well let's follow it."

They walked along different corridors, luckily not encountering any more Plasma members. Zangoose stopped outside a heavy steel door, that seemed out of place in this building.

"I can smell her in there!" Zangoose cried.

She raised her claws, and Slashed repeatedly at the door. Snivy had no idea how much agony she must have been going through to do this, but she was getting through the door!

_Kira_

Amber smiled as she stepped towards Kira. She was manically brandishing the branch, with an evil grin on her face.

Kira backed up to the wall, and Amber followed. She raised the branch, and swung it down, but Kira rolled out of the way just in time. The stick hit the wall, and snapped in two. The remains tumbled out of Amber's hands.

Kira ran towards the distant woods, hoping to reach it before Amber reached her. She felt something slam painfully into her back, incapacitating her. She was on the ground, seeing spots - and Amber. Amber had pinned her down, and had half of the branch in her hand.

"Nowhere to run now!" Amber said maliciously.

Suddenly, a scraping and banging sound came from the door. Kira and Amber looked towards it, and saw giant claws piercing the steel door. The door burst open, and a shape plummeted into Amber, knocking her from Kira.

Kira felt something warm drip onto her neck, and touched it. Blood! It wasn't her own. She looked over to whre Amber lay, out cold. Zangoose was the one who had burst through the door and saved her. But something was wrong. She ran over to Zangoose, and then noticed the blood in her neck fur.

"Zangoose. Zangoose! _Is that your own blood_?" Kira cried, fearing she already knew the answer.

"Zan..." the Pokémon replied.

"Zangoose, listen. I need to find some ingredients for my herbal cure so I'll have to leave you here for a bit, but I'll be back very soon, okay."

'_I need to find Echinacea angustifoli, Aloe vera, and some Honey,'_ she thought to herself.

She ran into the woods, and began her search for the ingredients.

_Snivy_

The girl had left, but the Master Ball had fallen from her pocket. Snivy picked it up, and pushed the button in the middle. Snivy's best friend emerged in a beam of white light.

"Paras!" Snivy yelled, and embraced him.

"Snivy! I knew you'd rescue me!

Snivy prematurely broke off the embrace to ask Paras a favour.

"Look, Paras. There's a Zangoose over there that has a bullet wound to the neck, and if we don't do something, she'll die!"

"Oh, that's terrible! What do you want me to do?"

"Her trainer is in the woods, collecting ingredients for a herbal remedy, that should pretty much heal Zangoose. But until then..."

"I have to keep her alive."

"Yeah."

Snivy led Paras to Zangoose, who was just lying on the floor, bleeding.

"Okay, I'll use Aromatherapy to ease the pain, and cure her a little."

A soothing smell was emitted from the mushrooms on Paras' back.

"Thanks..." Zangoose blurted out, alerting Snivy that she was still awake.

"Do you know Endure, Zangoose?" Paras quieried.

"Yeah... Should I... use it?" Zangoose asked, sounding like the fight was leaving her.

"Please."

"I know Safeguard, would that help?" Snivy asked.

"Yeah."

The combination of Aromatherapy, Endure and Safeguard would not last forever, nor would it heal Zangoose. Her time was still running out, but just slowly.

"Snivy, thanks for... everything. Getting me here, and... easing this pain." Zangoose said.

"No problem. Just - don't give up, okay. You're gonna be alright."

"Okay..." Zangoose replied, even though Snivy could tell she thought that she was going to die.

There was a silence, and Snivy's eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, Zangoose, don't do this to me! Or Kira!"

"I hope... she doesn't miss me... too much..."

"Zangoose, you're gonna be fine. Don't worry too much, Kira _will_ get the ingredients in time."

"I'd have already... died if... it weren't for... you guys. It's my time.

"Snivy, her pulse is fading." Paras informed.

"No, Zangoose. Please. Stay strong!"

"You can't... cheat death... forever..."

With this, Zangoose sighed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.


	9. Bullet

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Pokémon, or Ash would be a 24 year old man with no life. Which is what he would be, if Nintendo and Game Freak had followed nature.**

_Kira_

Kira was running through the woods, searching desperately for the flower, _Echinacea Angustifolia_. This was the final ingredient, she had found honey and aloe vera. She knew from experience that the flower grew in dry barrens, or in rocky soil. The ground felt hard and rocky underneath her feet. She was getting close. She was beginning to smell the dry honey smell, typical of _Echinacea Angustifolia_.

She stumbled into a clearing, and halted. The ground underneath her feet was rocky, and dry. She scanned the area for the flower, and saw it. But the flower was dead. She ran to it, and cradled it in her hands. There was no hope for this withered, lifeless corpse. She yelled in anger, and frustration. This was most likely to be the only flower in the forest.

Just then, she heard heavy footsteps and something crashing through the trees, the sound of something colossal approaching. With her scream, she must have awoken something. Kira saw a looming shadow over the canopy of the trees, and heard a roar, akin to the roar of a ferocious Tyranitar.

A head emerged from the woods. It was a Meganium! But something was different. This Meganium had a golden colouration, as opposed to the common green one it should have. Kira instantly stepped back from the Herb Pokémon, and stumbled over a small stone. The Meganium lowered it's head, and sniffed Kira. It reared it's head back, and a ball of green plasma appeared in it's mouth. Kira jumped to the side, and covered her head as it released it's Energy Ball. A tree above her was torn apart, obliterated by the force of the attack.

The Grass type charged up, and unleashed a Hyper Beam. Kira managed to stand up and run just in time, but the attack was drawing closer. She dived behind a large, sturdy oak tree, and the Meganium stopped it's attack to look for her. Behind the rubble of bushes and trees that the Hyper Beam had created, Kira had escaped. For now.

Suddenly, the idea hit her, and she knew what she had to do. She stepped out from behind the tree, to which the Pokémon was facing away. Then, she picked up a large rock (barely summoning the strength to do so) and hurled it at the Meganium's rump. It bellowed, agitated by the rock, and whipped it's long neck around to face her. It stood up on it's hind legs, and then brought it's front legs crashing down to earth. The result of this was a powerful Earthquake, toppling Kira. She fell, and the Pokémon raised it's front legs again, directly above her this time. As they fell, she rolled out from underneath them, straight underneath Meganium's belly. She reached for a stick next to her, and thrust it upwards into Meganium's belly. Luckily, it didn't pierce the skin, but it must have hurt all the same.

The Pokémon let out a weak moan, and fell to the floor, almost unconscious. It was then that Kira took off her shoe, and from the end of it removed a secret Ultra Ball that she kept hidden for situations like this. She clicked the button in the middle, and it grew to the size of a baseball. She hurled it at the seemingly lifeless body of the Meganium, which was forced inside. The ball wobbled three times, and clicked shut, a sign that Kira had succesfully caught the Pokémon.

Without a moment to congratulate herself, Kira ran to the Pokéball, and released her new Pokémon. It sprung out with a glimmer of golden stars, and a pinging sound.

"Meganium, breathe on that flower!" Kira commanded, pointing to the wilted _Echinacea Angustifolia_.

Meganium obeyed, and exhaled it's revitalizing breath on the plant. Within seconds, the flower was alive again, as though it had never died. Kira wasted no time in picking it, and then mashed it up with the other two ingredients with a rock. The mixture was now complete, and Kira scooped it into her hand. She jumped onto Meganium's back, and ordered it to run, as fast as it could, in the direction of the Plasma base.

_Snivy_

"Zangoose!" Snivy cried, weeping over her corpse. There was no chance that she could live now, it was too late. Kira had failed to get the ingredients in time. Snivy knew that, but he stayed by her body even so.

"Snivy, she's dead. There's nothing we can do now," Paras said, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

Snivy stayed hunched over Zangoose's body, hoping for any sign of life. But there was none, and there was never going to be.

Snivy hear a noise, the sound of stampeding feet heading straight towards them. He stood, prepared for an attack by Team Plasma. He was determined to protect Zangoose, for the little good it would do.

Snivy was suprised to see a Pokémon over the horizon, heading straight towards them. It looked like a little bit like the great Pokémon Virizion from this distance, but surely it couldn't be.

As it came closer, it appeared to Snivy that it was a Meganium, and there was someone riding on it's back. It was Kira! Snivy had been sad that Zangoose had died, so how would Kira feel? As she came closer, she saw Zangoose, and seemed excited. She obviously couldn't see from here the harsh reality.

She jumped off the Meganium when she got close enough, and ran to Zangoose. She slathered the paste that she had collected into the wound, and eagerly expected Zangoose to come round. When this didn't happen straight away, she turned to Snivy. Snivy bowed his head, and it was then that Kira realised.

"No! NOOO!" Kira cried. Tears burst out of her eyes, flooding Zangoose's fur.

Snivy could do nothing but watch, and put his arm on Kira's back. She continued crying, ignoring everything else. After a while, she spoke.

"We should bury her," she croaked, her voice cracking with the effect of tears.

They picked a suitable spot nearby, under the shelter of a tree. Kira dug the hole with her bare hands, not allowing anyone to help. They layed Zangoose in the hole, and Kira said a prayer for her. Whilst saying the prayer, Kira seemed oblivious to everything around her. Including Amber.

_Amber_

Amber opened her eyes. She was weak, the Zangoose that had attacked her had left it's mark. Blood was tickling from a head wound. She was bleeding badly from her chest, and her stomach had been slit open. Precious blood was spilling from her, she was definitely dying; her last act would be to kill the girl. She slowly reached into her pocket, removed her gun, and aimed...

_Snivy_

Snivy was comforting Kira, and he heard a click from behind him. He turned around, and saw Amber lying on the floor. She was in a bad state, but she was holding a gun! Snivy knocked Kira out of the way as she fired, eliminating any threat to Kira. The bullet would have killed her, but instead, it hit nothing. Or so Snivy thought.

He turned around, and saw the bullet hit Paras. Luckily, Paras had ducked, and it had only hit the tochukaso on his back. It was blown off, and scattered around the area. Kira reluctantly ran with Snivy and Paras, leaving Zangoose.

_Kira_

"Bye bye Zangoose," she whispered to herself, her cheeks dripping with tears.

She knew she had to do something, or they would all be shot by Amber.

"Meganium, Hyper Beam!" she yelled, putting all of her emotions into pure hatred for Amber.

Meganium fired the attack, which hit Amber square in the chest. She was flung (along with the beam) into one of the trucks in the garage. The force of Meganium's attack knocked over the truck that Amber hit, spilling the petrol everywhere. It pooled around all of the trucks, and left a puddle around the general area. There was no chance that with those injurys, and the force of hitting the truck, that would survive.

Kira heard sirens; the gunshot had obviously alerted the local police. They were close now, and Kira suddenly found herself rooted to the spot. Amber had impossibly survived, and was aiming her gun at her.

The Officer Jenny's were getting closer now, Kira could see the blue flashing glow in the distance. It would take them less than a minute to reach them. Kira just hoped that they would get to the trio in time.

Amber fired, but she didn't count on one thing. The flash of the gun at the muzzle ignited the fumes of petrol around her, and the petrol set on fire. Quickly, the petrol lighted the petrol underneath the trucks.

BOOM! The petrol tanks on the trucks, one by one, exploded, sending flaming debris up into the air. Kira couldn't see Amber, but her body had surely perished in the flames. The building was collapsing now, on fire and with the force of the explosion. Kira looked to the top of the building, and saw a helicopter rise from the flames. She squinted, and saw Looker at the controls, and Ghetsis in the back. They had escaped.

Snivy, Paras and Kira had won, but the bullet fired by Amber was still whizzing toward them. And there was no dodging now...

**DD: Just to clear things up for you people that think that Amber could survive. A little maths sum:  
>Stomach slit open + Head wound + Hyper Beam + Hitting a metal truck at about 50 mph + Exploding = LOL + Death.<br>Also, please review, someone will be shot, just guess who!**


	10. Imprisoned

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pok****émon, or [insert witty comment here]. Damn it, my witty comment generator is bust!**

_Paras_

Paras couldn't see the bullet, it was moving too fast. He could only sense, with amazing Pokémon senses, when it was too late. It was heading straight towards him! He winced, waiting for the inevitably fatal impact, when he realised.

Meganium had sensed it before him, and had released a devastating Ancient Power attack in the direction of the bullet. The bullet was struck, and bounced around the rocks, becoming more and more battered with each blow. It was easily visible now. Paras eased a bit, watching the projectile ricocheting off all of the rocks, until it bounced out of the wave of stones.

The bullet flew towards Paras still. It had lost most of the momentum from the rocks, but was still moving fast enough to do damage. It struck his abdomen, lodging itself underneath Paras' remaining tochukaso. Paras let out a screech of pain, saw his own blood pooling on the floor, and crumpled in a heap on the floor.

_Kira_

Kira saw Paras fall, his frail body tumbling onto the floor in a puddle of his blood. Snivy ran towards him, desperate to help his best friend. This couldn't be happening. Not so soon after Zangoose.

Kira ran towards Officer Jenny, who was the closest to reaching her. She promptly stopped her motorbike in apparent confusion. Some police officers rushed past her, in a faultless attempt to get to the incapacitated Paras.

"Thank you so much for coming, we-"

"You're under arrest ma'am-" Officer Jenny announced, the words not registering with Kira for a few moments.

"WHAT!" Kira exclaimed in utter shock, her bewilderment evident to those around her. "Why!"

The Officer looked at Kira as if she were crazy. "You and your little Pokémon pals there have just destroyed this building, an act of terrorism. This was a reputable company, just doing their jobs, yet you have killed them. That seems like a crime to me."

"NO! You have it all wrong! They were Team Plasma! One of them blew up their own building. Look!"

Kira pointed to the sky, where the helicopter had been moments earlier. But it had vanished. All her story had earned her was a skeptical look from Jenny.

Kira looked around. She saw Snivy being forced into a tiny cage, powerless to do anything with all of the Arcanine around him. And so Kira knew that they were all going to prison. Who would believe her story about Team Plasma?

She caught the eye of Snivy one last time, who appeared to be signaling over to the paramedics at work on Paras. She understood what he meant, and began to formulate a plan. She then knew what she had to do.

"Meganium! Grab Paras and RUN!" she yelled to her most recent Pokémon, for she knew they had to still have someone on their side on the outside.

Meganium nodded, and grabbed the Mushroom Pokémon in it's mouth. The doctors yelped, and begun to back away. One of them threw a rock at Meganium, which did as much damage as a wet paper towel. All it got him was an intimidating growl from Meganium.

And with Paras in it's mouth, Meganium ran into the woods.

"What are you waiting for, after it!" Officer Jenny exclaimed, sending three Policemen into the woods after Meganium.

Kira breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the golden Meganium gallop into the forest. Then she was bundled into a police car, and driven away...

_Paras_

Paras felt hard sharp strokes across his face. He opened his eyes, and in his semi-conscious state he realized that they were branches. He looked upwards, and saw the Meganium belonging to that girl from the building. It was running with him it it's mouth, obviously in a distressed state. He wondered why, but he was exhausted, and hurt. So he just closed his eyes, and fell back into his slumber.

_Snivy_

Snivy and the girl had long since arrived at the detention center for criminal humans and Pokémon. She - as a human - was currently under interrogation by the police, whilst he had been thrown in a temporary cell. He would not be given the right to fair trial, as no-one could understand him except Pokémon. He would just have to rely completely on the girl to get them out of the situation.

He looked out of the tiny barred window and gave a wry smile. The last time he had been left alone with a window he had escaped and fallen onto Zangoose.

He attempted to reach out of the window, to feel the breeze on his hands, but as soon as his arm breached the bars, he felt a jolt of pain. He squinted, and saw a slight yellowish tinge outside the window, just where he had touched. That was Protect! The protection was good here. Snivy imagined there would be multiple layers of barriers; they wouldn't take chances with the kind of nutters locked up in here.

Snivy gazed over the horizon and saw a familiar valley. He gasped as realization set in. That was where he was born! A tear came to his eye as he remembered his home. So how had he ended up here, sure to go to Pokémon prison?

_He had been hatched to a Dunsparce father and a Servine mother. The Chansey in charge of his egg had said he was a fine young __Pok__émon, knowing the moves Safeguard, Pursuit, Glare and Tackle, two moves thanks to his father. He had grown up relatively happily, playing with the forest __Pok__émon._

_He left one day to forage for fresh berries, but when he came back, there was a Rapidash with a thorn in it's foot, running around and going crazy, spreading fire all over the valley. It was subdued by the local villagers all working together, whilst Snivy had run to his and his parents burrow, which was covered by a burning log. No-one had noticed it, seen as it was only a hole in the ground, and there was burning wreckage everywhere._

_Snivy tried to lift the log with his hands and vines, but to no avail. Tears dripped down his face as he tried to move the log in every way possible; Tackling it, lifting it, even kicking it, but the log was too strong. _

_Finally, when he realised he was just too weak to move the log, he caught the attention of the town's mayor, Venusaur, who came rushing to help him. He blasted the log away easily with his SolarBeam, and they entered the burrow together._

_Snivy dropped down in disbelief and horror. He was so shocked, he could feel nothing. He wanted to cry, but the tears just weren't there._

_His parents were dead, suffocated from the smoke. They looked so peaceful, in each other's embrace. _

_'In eternal paradise together, watching over him', others had said after the accident, and yet Snivy could never shake off the feeling of guilt that shrouded him, where once had been his parents love. And so he had left to the hills where he had first met Paras, desperate to become stronger, as he felt the lack of training had been the cause of his parents death._

The memory of it just added to Snivy's sadness. He had been driven by his desire to become stronger, until it had led to him becoming a bully. His head drooped as he realized: his parents would be ashamed.

No. He couldn't just give up and feel alone, he had to redeem himself. He just _had_ to get out of here, and punish Team Plasma. He had to save the girl, get out, and find Paras. And he knew how to do it, in the way only a Pokémon could.

_Kira_

Kira was frustrated now. She had answered the same questions again and again now, with constant answers.

"Why did you destroy the building?" an interrogator asked her for what must have been the hundreth time.

"I've told you, I didn't! It was Team Plasma!"

"Of course it was. The team that disbanded a while ago, and not a trace has been seen since? That Team Plasma?"

"Yes," Kira said through gritted teeth.

"I thought so..." he said, with a smirk of satisfaction on his face.

"May I pose a question?" Officer Jenny asked, walking into the room.

"Of course. After all, you brought this _criminal_ in."

"You said that the Meganium was caught recently, and yet it let you ride it, it listens to your every command, and it apparently attacked your enemy and the 'real' cause of the explosion. Why would it do that so recently after being caught?"

"Aha!" the interrogator exclaimed. "You didn't see that loophole in your fairytale, did you!"

"It's very simple, _actually_. I own a herbal remedy shop. I know everything about Grass types, so I have a natural affinity with them. I know how to please them. I know what they like, and don't like. I knew Meganium wouldn't mind me riding on him as long as I let him make his own way to the spot I'd told him about. I knew that he wouldn't want me sitting too close to his flower, or it would rub against my legs."

"Fine. You may go to your cell," the interrogator said, a bitter look on his face.

KIra stood, and walked to the prison guard that was to escort her to her cell. They set off down a corridor, walking past lots of cells. When they reached her cell, the guard stopped to open it.

Kira stumbled and fell, catching the guard on her way. He caught her, and she stood back up again, a little shaken from the fall.

"Thank you," she said, and walked inside the cell. The door slammed shut, and then she smiled.

She had already planned her escape, she just had to locate Snivy. She unfurled her hand, and revealed to herself the method of escape that she had stolen from the guard as she'd fallen on him. It was all a matter of time now...

**DD: Hi! This is my first update in ages, part of my New Years resolution to write a chapter every weekend. Happy New Year!**


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